Thread cutter for bobbin changing looms



Sept. 26, 1939. R. G. TURNER ,987

THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN CHANGING LOOMS Filed March 10, 1957 3Sheets-Sheet l BE e3 11 W me 435 1x a \RD gs- Hide,

Rb mu as m Inventor Rmhard. G-.Turner zz torney Sept. 26, 1939. R. G.TURNER THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN CHANGING LOOMS Filed March 10, 1937 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Richard frl'uvnev Attorney Sept. 26, 1939. l T R2 ,173,987

THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN CHANGING LOOMS Filed March 10, 1937 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor Richard Tuvner Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN CHANGING LOOMS ApplicationMarch 10,

13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in thread cutters for weftreplenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention toprovide a cutter for severing the thread of the outgoing bobbin in aloom, such as a pick and pick automatic loom wherein transfer occurs ina temporarily raised shuttle box.

In my prior Patent No. 2,058,113 I show a loom having two shiftingshuttle boxes adjacent to the magazine and controlled to shift the boxesat the magazine end every other beat of the loom. In such a loom theboxes will be raised from one top center of the lay to the bottom centerfollowing the next top center. With this arrangement it is possible todetect the condition of weft on a front center position of the lay andtransfer on the following back center.

When the top box rises the Weft end of the shuttle therein extends tothe selvage along a relatively elevated path, so that detecting andtransfer occur with the weft raised. It is an important object of mypresent invention to provide a cutter mechanismpositioned to receive theraised thread and movable to open position during the backward movementof the lay to catch and hold the thread for cutting before the layreaches transferring position on back center.

It is necessary to effect resetting of the cutter for the next operationof the magazine which, as set forth in the aforesaid patent, cannotoccur until four picks have elapsed from the first transfer, due to theshuttle sequence in a loom of the type to which my invention moreparticularly relates. It is a further object of my present invention toprovide a connection, such as a flexible strap from the lay to thecutter, to operate and reset the cutter on the backward stroke of thelay.

The conditions of transfer are such that the lay and transfer latchremain in engagement at back center during the time that the cutter isto operate and it is a further object of my present invention to providea sliding connection which permits the aforesaid strap from the lay tooperate the cutter while the transfer mechanism is still connected tothe lay.

The lay operated strap becomes taut on each back center of the lay andis therefore capable of resetting the cutter whenever the lay movesrearwardly. It is a further object of my present invention to set thecutter when the lay is forward of its back center position and rely uponthe regularly actuated strap to close the cutter. This result may beobtained by connections from the transfer latch and effective when the1937, Serial No. 130,128

latter is raised into transfer position from its normally down positionto rock the cutter blade to open position. This action occurs during thefirst part of the setting of the transferrer latch and a slideconnection is provided to accommo- 5 date the remaining motion of thetransfer mechanism which occurs after the cutter is fully open.

In order that the thread may be directed along a proper path for cuttingit is another object of my invention to mount on the lay a thread placerunder which the thread of the elevated shuttle passes, forward motion ofthe lay being relied upon in conjunction with the placer to guide thethread in correct relation with respect to the cutter.

It is a more specific object of my present invention to provide aspecial form of cutter adapted for resharpening and having a relieved orrecessed zone toward which the cutting edge extends. A stop for thethread is provided to prevent the latter from entering the recessedzone, thereby keeping the thread always within the range of the cuttingedge. In this connection the stop is made so that it can ge removedrearwardly from the cutter when sharpening becomes necessary.

Many cutters as heretofore made have produced a bight in the threadaround the cutting edge and the effect of this bight is to interferewith proper cutting. It is another object of my present invention toprovide a guard spaced'from the cutting edge to have holding relationwith the thread so that the latter will lie along a substantiallystraight line for an appreciable distance on each side of the cuttingedge, the latter moving down in a plane substantially perpendicular tothe thread and there being no bight adjacent the cutter to interferewith the action thereof.

With these and other objects in View which wil1 appear as thedescription proceeds, my in vention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic end elevation of a loom having my inventionapplied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation of part of the shifting shuttlebox structure showing certain features of my invention,

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan taken in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views showing the shifting shuttleboxes in different positions with respect to the shuttle path,

Fig. '7 is an enlarged detailed side elevation of the cutter shown innormal position as seen from the end of the loom, being an enlargementof a part of Fig. 1,

Fig; 8 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 7 taken in thedirection of arrow 8,

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the cutter taken in the direction of arrow9, Fig. '7,

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but taken from the opposite sideshowing the parts in full lines in normal position and open for cuttingin dotted lines,

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but with the cutter shown open infull lines and with the strap at the beginning of a cutting operation,and

Fig. 12 is a section on line l2|2, Fig. 10.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I have shown the inventionapplied to a so-called pick and pick loom having a pair of shiftingshuttle boxes at each side, the right hand pair only being shown in Fig.The mode of operation of the loom is such that each of the shuttle boxesshown in Fig. 2 is in active position for two successive picks and thenmoved to inactive position for the next two successive picks. Whilecertain features of my invention lend themselves particularly to thisarrangement, yet I donot wish to be limited in the application of myinvention to a loom operating in the particular manner set forth.

The loom frame 20 has a breast beam 2i and a lay 22 at the right end ofwhich as shown in Fig. 2 are located upper and lower shuttle boxes 23and 24, respectively, separated by an empty box or bobbin passage 25.The boxes are shifted by means of a lifter rod 25 under control ofpattern mechanism not shown and operating preferably as describedhereinbefore. A magazine M supplies reserve bobbins B which in thepresent instance are all of the same color, while the transferrer arm 27is pivoted as at 28 to the back of the loom behind the lay and haspivoted thereto a transfer latch 29 and holder 30 therefor. A controlrod 78 for the latch is normally up and is depressed when a transfer isto take place by mechanism not shown herein but substantially the sameas that which operates rod 18 in my copending application Serial No.103,544. The lay has a bunter 3| projecting rearwardly to haveengagement with the elevated latch 29 when the lay approaches its backcenter position,

The reserve bobbin B in transfer position, as indicated in Fig. 2, islocated to be immediately above the shuttle box 23 when the latter is inits raised inactive position. In the operation of the loom the time willcome when box 23 will receive an empty shuttle from the opposite side ofthe loom when the lay is approximately on bottom center, or movingforwardly and midway between its extreme positions. The rod 26 will thenstart to raise the boxes, the latter rising while the lay' reaches itsfront center position and continuing to rise until just before the timefor picking in the loom cycle, which ordinarily occurs approximately attop center with the lay at mid position on its backward stroke. Theshuttle box 23 then remains raised for approximately a beat and a halfof the loom, the lay moving to back center, bottom, frontand topcenters, at which time another shuttle will be picked, will continue tomove to back center and will reach bottom center the second time whilebox 23is still raised. In the two-pick cycle of box shiftings thereforethe box 23 will be raised and at rest with respect to the lay on a frontcenter position of the lay and also when the later reaches its backcenter position, and I make use of these conditions to detect thecondition of weft when the lay is on front center by a detector D, shownin Fig. 3, and approximately one-half a beat later the previouslydescribed operation between the hunter 3| and the latch 29 take place.By means of mechanism omitted from the drawings in the presentdisclosure but set forth fully in my previously identified copendingapplication the latch will start to rise very soon after the detectorindicates weft exhaustion and while the lay is on front center.

A temple cutter T may be located adjacent the selvage of the cloth C andset preferably to act within four beats of the loom to cut the fillingextending from the empty shuttle at the time of transfer. This relationpermits successive transfers which can occur every fourth beat of theloom.

The matter thus far described is customarily found in so-called 2 x 2pick and pick looms, except that boxes 23 and 24 are separated to ac-.commodate the outgoing bobbin at the time of transfer.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide means for cuttingthe thread which extends from the selvage to a shuttle in box 23 whentemporarily raised and out of action for two successive picks.Accordingly, I mount a stand 40 on the breast beam having rearwardlyextending bearing horns 4| and 42 through which extends a shaft 43having a collar 44 to limit longi-' tudinal motion thereof in onedirection and having secured thereto for angular adjustment around theshaft a second collar 45 which receives one end of a torsion spring 46the other end of which is received by the horn bearing 4|. The effect ofthe spring is to turn the shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed inFig. 7. An arm 4'! is secured to and extends forwardly from the shaft 43to have pivotal connection as at 48 with the upper end of a descendingrod 49 pivoted to a bell crank lever 50. A second rod 5| connects lever59 with another bell crank lever 52 and the latter in turn is connectedby rod 53 to the transferrer latch 29. The inner end of shaft 43 hassecured threreto another arm 55 mounted for angular adjustment aroundthe shaft and relatively thereto. Ordinarily the arm 55 is disposedrearwardly with the upper end thereof behind the vertical plane of shaft43, as shown in full lines in Figs. '7 and 10.

When a transfer is called the latch 29 will be raised from the full tothe dotted line position of.

Fig. 1 early in the backward stroke of the lay and while the latter isclose to its front center position. The links and bell crank levers 5eand 52 will thereupon be rocked from their full to the dotted linepositions shown in Fig. l to rock shaft 43 in a left hand direction asviewed in Figs. 1 and 7. The effect of this motion by rod 23 is to movethe arm 55 forwardly or to the full line position shown in Fig. 11.

The arm 55 carries a stud 60, see Figs. 8 and 9, having mounted thereoninner and outer washers 6i and 62, respectively, between which extends aslide friction link 63 slotted as at 64 to permit the stud 60 to movelongitudinally with respect to the link. A compression spring 65 bearsagainst washer 6| to create friction between the link 63 and thewashers. Adjusting and lock nuts 65 and 61, respectively, are providedto vary the friction between the link and washers. Spring 46 is strongenough to overcome the frictional resistance which the slide 63 and thewashers offer to each other under the action of spring 65.

The rear end of link 63 is pivoted as at I to a lever II moving about astud I2 carried by an arm I3 of a plate I4 bolted to a part of the stand40. An adjustable stop screw I5 is carried by the lower part of lever IIto engage the arm I3 and limit angular motion of lever II in a righthand direction as viewed in Fig. '7.

The parts of the cutter thus far described are supported by structurewhich is stationary with respect to the loom, the shaft 43 and lever IIhaving fixed axes.

The cutter to be described is mounted for yielding motion forwardlyshould a shuttle fail to be boxed properly at the magazine end of theloom. Accordingly, a yielding slide 80 is carried by the plate I4 and isheld in place by caps 8 I the slide moving forwardly whenever it isengaged by a misplaced shuttle. A stop screw 82 on the slide ispositioned for engagement with the plate I4 to limit rearward movementof the plate under the action of a tension spring 83 interposed betweenthe slide and one of the caps 8I.

The cutter proper includes a blade 85 secured to the rear part of slide80 and located inwardly or toward the center of the loom with respect tosaid slide. A movable cutter blade 66 is pivoted as at 8! to the slideand has a forwardly and upwardly extending finger 88 located in front ofa pin 89 projecting laterally from the top of lever II. A dependingfinger 80 of the blade is attached to a flexible strap 9| madepreferably of leather and extending forwardly around a sheave 92 looseon the shaft 43. From the sheave the strap extends rearwardly to beconnected as at 93 to the lay 22.

The rear part of the movable cutter blade is formed with a notch I00,see Fig. 11, which opens forwardly and has a cutting edge IOI located onthe upper part of the notch. In order to facilitate sharpening, theforward end of the notch is enlarged as at I02 and a cotter pin I03carried by the blade prevents a thread from entering the enlarged partI62. The rear part of the cutter has a shoulder I04 to engage a pin I05carried by the slide 80. Ordinarily the cutter will not engage the pinI05, but the latter serves to prevent excess angular motion of thecutter in a right hand direction around its pivot 8'! as viewed inFig. 1. The strap 9| is tightened by the lay as the latter movesrearwardly and is the means by which the cutter is closed or operated tocut the thread.

I have found that when a thread to be cut extends away from the cuttingedge at a sharp angle, the cutter does not operate with entiresatisfaction, and in order to present the thread correctly for cutting Iprovide means for requiring a portion thereof to extend away from thecutting edge more or less in a direction at right angles to said edge.To accomplish this result I mount a thread guard IIO on finger 90 of thepivoted cutter on that side of slide 80 toward the magazine. This guardhas a forwardly opening notch III substantially in alignment with thenotch I00 of the cutter, as Viewed in Fig. 7. The rear part of the notchIII is defined by an edge I I2 which requires a thread to extend fromthe cotter pin I03 to said edge H2 in a direction more or lessperpendicular to the plane of action of the movable cutter, see Fig. 12.

To assist in the proper location of the thread to be cut with respect tothe cutter I provide a thread placer I20 mounted on the lay above thepatch of the active shuttle. The placer has a rearwardly and downwardlyfacing notch I2I which is located below the inactive shuttle S in thetop box 23 when the latter is fully raised to its idle position readyfor transfer. This placer sustains the relation shown in Figs. 4, 5 and6 to the shuttle boxes as the latter shift. When box 23 is down as shownin Fig. 4 to receive the empty shuttel S the notch I2I will be above theweft which extends from said shuttle box to the adjacent selvage. -Theboxes start to rise while the lay is moving forwardly so that the weftend will extend diagonally rearwardly from the fell of the cloth. Duringthe shift the boxes will assume the position of Fig. 5, the thread ofthe rising box being caught under a nose I25 on placer I20 projectingforwardly above notch I2I. The lay is at or near front center in theposition of Fig. 5.

As the box shift is completed, as suggested in Figs. 2 and 6, the threadwill extend from the shuttle eye E to the left along the bottom ofshuttle box 23 and will bend down at a point I26 on the floor of box 23to extend under the nose I25 of the placer, from which point the threadwill extend downwardly to the adjacent selvage. At this time the lay ismoving rearwardly away from the fell, and the thread moves back with thelay. During the next forward movement of the lay the thread will assumethe position of Figs. 3 and 10, extending over and in front of the notchI00 of the movable cutter when the lay reaches front center. If atransfer is to occur the cutter will be opened while the thread is infront of it, and rearward motion of the lay will direct the thread intonotches I00 and I I I.

Assuming that a transfer has been called and that the lay is at thebeginning of its rearward stroke, latch 29 will be raised to rock shaft43 and cause forward motion of arm 55, the effect of which is to movethe friction link 63 forwardly because of the pressure of the washersinduced by spring 65. This rocks lever II and moves the pin 89 againstthe finger 88 of the pivoted cutter. The friction between the link 63and the washers is suflicient to cause opening of the cutter as thelever II rocks forwardly. It is to be understood that this movement ofthe lever occurs during the first part of the lifting of the latch 29and while the lay is still far enough forward tocause the weft thread tolie in front of the notch I00, and asthe lay continues to moverearwardly the thread will enter the notch I06.

Continued upward movement of latch 29 to its full dotted line positionshown in Fig. 1 will be accompanied by a continuing motion in a forwarddirection of arm II, but a stop pin I30 engages the finger 88 to limitfurther rocking of the cutter, see Fig. 10, whereupon the washers slideforwardly along the link '63, the stud moving away from the rear orright hand end of the slot 64 as viewed in Fi '7. When the cutter risesthe thread guard I I0 is also lifted and since the thread placer islocated between the elevated shuttle and the thread guard, the weft tobe cut extends across the stationary cutter 85 in a direction more orless perpendicular to the cutting edge. The cutter is therefore open andthe thread in notches I00 and III as the lay moves rearwardly from frontcenter position, the parts being in the dotted line position of Fig 10.

Continued rearward motion of the lay will tighten the strap 9I and asthe lay approaches back center it will act through the strap to rock themovable'cutter and move the edge IIJI down,

thereby severing the Weft, the parts moving from the full to the dottedline position of Fig. 11. At this time the transfer latch 29 is still inengagement with the hunter 3|, hence the stud 60 maintains its forwardposition. Operation of the cutter, however, requires rearward motion ofthe finger 88 and the latter during its backward motion will engage pin89 and rock lever H back to its normal rear position. During this lastmotion the link 63 will slide rearwardly with respect to the washers,from the full to the dotted line position of Fig. 11. The stud 69therefore occupies the forward or right hand part of slot 64 as viewedin Fig. 11. This leaves the adjustable stop screw 15 in the full lineposition of Fig. 7 and as the lay moves forwardly the latch 29 isreleased by the forward motion of the hunter 3| and is free to fall,after which shaft 43 is turned in a right hand direction as viewed inFig. 1 to move arm rearwardly. This movement is induced principally bythe action of spring 46 which is strong enough to overcome the frictionof the washers against slide 63, but part of the motion is due also tothe weight of the latch 29. During this turning of shaft 43 the washersslide along link '63 from the dotted position of Fig. 10 to the fullline position of Figs. 7 and 10, the parts assuming their normalposition as shown in Fig. '7 preparatory to another cutting operation.

To assist in holding the thread after cutting, I use a clamp plate I40mounted to slide on pins I85 and 130, both on slide 80. A leaf springI42 secured to the slide urges the clamp plate against movable cutter86, and during cutting that part of the weft attached to the selvage ispushed between the clamp and movable cutter by movement of the latter.At a later time the temple cutter T cuts the weft end from the selvage,and at the next operation of the cutter the weft end is released.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a thread cutterto cooperate with a temporarily inactive shuttle in a pick and pick loomand operate the same in such a way as to cut the weft extending fromsuch a shuttle to the selvage during the backward stroke of the lay bymeans of a cutter having a forwardly extending notch into which the weftis moved by rearward motion of the lay. It will also be seen that athread placer is located between the idle shuttle and the cuttingmechanism and serves to direct the thread downwardly into the range ofthe cutter, the shuttle being above that range so that a threadextending directly from the shuttle to the selvage would not otherwisebe placed for entry into the notch I00. It will further be seen that Ihave provided a thread guard which requires the weft to extend acrossthe cutting edges in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto.Furthermore, the cutter is opened by a force derived from thetransferrer latch during the first part of the movement of the lattertoward transfer position, and provision is made for closing the cutterwhile the latch is still held by the hunter on the lay. This last resultis accomplished by means of a sliding friction mechanism which transmitsenough force to open the cutter but can be overpowered by the spring 46when the cutter is to be reset. The friction also yields to the force ofthe lay transmitted through the strap 9| as the lay moves rearwardly ona cutting stroke. Again, the thread placer is so proportioned as tomaintain the thread extending from the idle shuttle to the selvage inproper relation with respect to the cutter throughout the back and forthsweep of the lay.

Having thus described my invention it will be .seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and operating with shiftingshuttle boxes having shuttle receiving cells which are continuouslyraised during two successive back center positions and an interveningfront center position of the lay, a thread cutter in front of the lay, aweft detector to indicate exhaustion of weft in the elevated cell whenthe lay is in front center position, transfer mechanism to be set fortransfer by the detector and operated by the lay when the latter is inback center position, a connection between the transfer mechanism andthread cutter to open the latter when the transfer mechanism is set andprior to transferring operation of the transfer mechanism, and meansoperated by the lay capable of closing the cutter at each back centerposition of the lay.

2. In a weft replenishing loom, detector means to indicate weftexhaustion when the lay is in front center position, mechanism toreplenish the weft when the lay reaches the following back centerposition, a latch forming part of said mechanism and movable from normalto transfer .position, a thread cutter normally closed, a connectionbetween the latch and the cutter including a friction slide effective toopen the cutter when the latch is moved to transfer position, meanscontrolled by the detector to move the latch to transfer position, andmeans operative as the lay approaches back center position to close thecutter.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay, a transferrer latch movablefrom normal to transfer position during the first part of a backwardmotion of the lay, a normally closed thread cutter, connections betweenthe latch and cutter to open the cutter by movement of the latch duringthe first part of the movement of the latch from normal to transferposition, slide means in said connections by which the latch continuesto move after the cutter is open, and means to close the cutter when thelay completes its backward motion.

4. In a loom, a lay, a shuttle box movable from active position upwardlyto an inactive position above the lay, a shuttle in the box having aweft thread extending therefrom to the cloth selvage, a thread cutterlocated below the inactive shuttle box, and a thread guide fixed on thelay presenting a thread engaging surface below the raise box and lyingin the path of the weft thread, upward motion of the shuttle box liftingthe thread against the guide and the latter thereafter ho1ding a portionof said thread down in the range of action of the thread cutter.

5. In a loom, a lay, a shuttle box movable from active position upwardlyto an inactive position above the lay, a shuttle inthe box having a weftthread extending therefrom to the cloth selvage, a thread cutter locatedbelow the inactive shuttle box, and a thread guide on the lay presentinga downwardly and forwardly opening notch below the shuttle box whenraised and lying in the path of the weft thread to engage the latter asthe box rises and hold a portion of the weft thread down in the range ofaction of the thread cutter.

6. In a loom, a lay, a shuttle box movable from active position upwardlyto an inactive position above the lay, a shuttle in the box having aweft thread extending therefrom to the cloth selvage, a thread cutterwhich when open for a cutting operation has a forwardly opening mouth toreceive a thread, and a thread guide on the lay having a forwardly anddownwardly opening notch located below the raised shuttle box and lyingin the path of the thread to engage the latter as the box rises, forwardmotion of the lay causing the guide to move the weft thread to aposition in front of the cutter mouth and subsequent rearward motion ofthe lay and shuttle box causing the thread to enter the cutter mouth.

'7. In a thread cutter for a loom, a shuttle having a weft threadextending therefrom to the selvage, a support, a cutter blade fixed tosaid support, a second cutter blade pivoted tosaid support and movablein a given plane to cooperate with the first blade to cut a thread, saidcutter :blades located between the shuttle and selvage and the threadlying across the given plane in the range of action of the cutters, anda guard spaced from the cutters and mounted on the second cutter toengage and hold a portion of the thread extending beyond said cutterswith respect to the selvage along a line transverse to said given plane8. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay, a hunter on the lay, alatch movable from normal to transfer position for engagement with thebunter during a portion of the movement of the lay, a normally closedthread cutter, connections between the latch and the cutter to open thelatter during the first part of the movement of the latch towardtransfer position, said connections including yielding means, and meansto close the cutter while the latch is in engagementwith the bunter,said yielding means yielding topermit closing of the cutter.

9. In a loom having a lay, a hunter on the lay, a transfer latch movablefrom normal to transfer position and having engagement with the bunterduring a portion of the motion of the lay, a normally closed threadcutter, connections between the latch and the cutter to open the latterwhen the latch moves toward transfer position, said connectionsincludingv a sliding device capable of transmitting sufficient forcefrom the latch to the cutter to open the latter, and means acting on thecutter during said porion of the motion of the lay to close said cutterwhile the latch engages the bunter, the last named means being capableof causing yielding of the sliding device.

10. In a loom having a lay, a bunter on the lay, a transfer latchmovable from normal to transfer position for engagement with the bunterduring a portion of the motion of the lay, a sliding device capable oftransmitting agiven force and yielding when subjected to a greaterforce, connections between the sliding device and the latch, otherconnections between the sliding device and the cutter, the latterrequiring a force not greater than said given force for the openingthereof, the latch when moving toward transfer position opening thecutter through said other connections and sliding device, and meansconnected to said cutter to subject said sliding device to a forcegreater than said given force to close the cutter during said portion ofthe motion of the lay while the latch is in contact with the bunter.

11. In a loom having a lay, a bunter on the lay, a transfer latchmovable from normal to transfer position for engagement with the bunterdur ing a portion of the motion of the lay, a sliding device capable oftransmitting a given force and yielding when subjected to a greaterforce, connections between the sliding device and the latch, otherconnections between the sliding device and the cutter, the latterrequiring a force not greater than said given force for the openingthereof, the latch when moving toward transfer position opening thecutter through said other connections and sliding device, meansconnected to the cutter to subject said sliding device to a forcegreater than said given force to close the cutter during said portion ofthe motion of the lay while the latch is in contact with the bunter andcause sliding of said device to an abnormal position, and yielding meansacting on said sliding device subsequent to said portion of the motionof the lay and exerting on said sliding devices a force greater thansaid given force to restore said sliding device to normal position,

12. In a loom having a lay, a transfer latch movable from normal totransfer position, control means for the transfer latch to establishoperating connections between the lay and the transfer latch during aportion of the motion of the lay, a normally closed thread cutter, aforce transmitting element yielding when subjected to a force greaterthan a given force and transmitting force without yielding whensubjected to a force less than said given force, connections betweensaid element and the control means, other connections between theelement and the cutter, said other connections to open the cutter by aforce derived from said control means and transmitted through saidelement without yielding thereof, means to close the cutter during saidportion of the lay motion and move the element to abnormal position, andresetting means for said element, the cutter being opened by a forceless than said given force, the second means to exert a force greaterthan said given force to close the cutter and cause yielding of saidelement, and

said resetting means exerting a force on said element greater than saidgiven force to restore said element to normal condition after yieldingthereof and subsequent to said portion of motion of the lay.

13. In a loom having a lay, a transfer latch movable from normal totransfer position, control means to establish operating connectionsbetween the lay and the transfer latch during a' portion of the motionof the lay, a normally closed thread cutter, a force transmittingelement constituting relatively sliding friction devices yielding whensubjected to a force greater than a given force and transmitting forcewithout yielding when subjected to a force less than said given force,connections between said element and the control means, otherconnections between said element and the cutter, said other connectionsto open the cutter by a force derived from said control means, means toclose the cutter during said portion of the lay motion and causerelative sliding of the friction devices to an abnormal position, andresetting means for said element, the cutter being opened by a forceless than said given force, the second means to exert a force greaterthan said given force to close the cutter and cause relative sliding ofthe friction devices, and said resetting means connected to and exertinga force on said element greater than said given force to restore saidfriction devices to normal condition after yielding thereof andsubsequent to said portion of motion of the lay.

RICHARD Gr. TURNER.

